SALT LAKE CITY — For almost three weeks now, the news has been out that the Utah Jazz agreed to free-agent deals with Ed Davis, Jeff Green and Emmanuel Mudiay.
On Saturday morning, the deals finally became official, as the team announced the signings.
What took so long? The timing came down to how the Jazz maneuvered the salary cap. Davis was reportedly signed using a mechanism called the room midlevel exception, while Green and Mudiay were reportedly signed to minimum contracts (terms of the deals were not officially disclosed), meaning Utah could go over the salary cap to make the signings work.
First, though, they used salary cap space to sign 2017 draftee Nigel Williams-Goss, 2019 draftee Miye Oni and summer league free agents William Howard and Stanton Kidd, clearing the way for them to be able to sign Davis, Green and Mudiay.
Davis is a nine-year veteran who is most known for his rebounding prowess, having pulled down an average of 8.6 in just 17.9 minutes per game last season with the Brooklyn Nets. Green has been in the NBA for 12 seasons, and most recently played for the Washington Wizards. Mudiay has played for four seasons, and averaged 14.8 points for the New York Knicks last season.
Davis will wear No. 17, Green will wear No. 22 and Mudiay will wear No. 8.